Skyrim - Your Reviews and First Impressions

[Velothi]

So, I just rented Skyrim for my PS3 from Family video.

The first experience is, foremost, the graphics are superb this time around. While Oblivion looked pretty compared to Morrowind (and even then you could still point out the lack of actual facial expression), Skyrim gives you a sense that these are real people.

Some do not like their chain of command, others have families to which they bond and speak with, and there are rivalries toward love and all that.

The NPCs not only look better but they ACT better. They act like real people in a real war, taking passion for their side and believing their side to be right in the war. (I personally side with the Stormcloaks)

As well as rumors of what the others are doing

Spoiler:

- such as the Jarl of Whiterun being a political rival of Ulfric, thus people of Riverwood fear that he may side with the Imperials due to the fact that Ulfric is against them.

Not to mention the economy work of Skyrim (even as I doubted Todd for perfectly good reasons) is fantastic as well.

Such as being able to actually partake in cutting of wood or making new armor and weapons for yourself or for trade. The animations also make it look realistic rather than just click then it magically appears there.

Spoiler:

Another point: When you are about to be executed, I was a Dunmer, the Imperial who you may follow basically is respectful of you. "We'll be sure to send your remains to Morrowind". It shows that there might be some type of government-in-exile in Morrowind or nearby that will help with the burial and that the soldier is remorseful for allowing you to die. Still doesn't excuse them from it.

And I have played about an hour or so.

The combat is well defined, and a bit more 'cinematic' to make it more fluid. It may seem that its easy, but that's only because it takes into aspect what happens when you cut someone. Now allow them to cut you - and you'll die fast.

I haven't gotten the handle of firing arrows but the controls are simplistic and easy to follow.

[DemiserofD]

Let me just start by saying that when i got Skyrim, i was under the impression that my computer would barely be able to run it. Then, after first installing it and a flurry of emails to bethesda, i learned that I did not, in fact, meet the requirements of 512 mb of graphics memory... in fact, i had 32. Yes, 32 mb of memory.

And skyrim still runs.

Sure, i have to run it at the minimum possible resolution, and with almost everything turned off, but all the GAMEPLAY remains intact!

And even though i can barely chug along at 8-10 fps sometimes, i have still never had so much fun, or been so immersed in a game, than i have been with Skyrim. Perhaps it's because i don't expect as much, or that i'm willing to blame a few sync issues or clipping bugs on my computer, rather than the game; but that doesn't really matter, does it? If you have time to worry about that, the game isn't doing its job right. You're not IMMERSED.

And i nearly drowned in that blasted game. My parents told me that they were leaving to go eat, and it literally seemed like only seconds later that they were back...I don't even have any idea how many minutes or hours i've put into it already...and the amazing thing is, i've been playing as the most basic of type of character. Redguard warrior, with light armor focus and a touch of magic. I've never had so much fun!

Also, before people go out and complain about the combat, let me say that for a RPG of skyrim's scale it is simply MARVELOUS. Not even including magick, it is an incredibly visceral experience, and i have found myself literally on the edge of my seat more than once. In one dungeon i found myself and my companion under assault from wave after wave of draugr, culminating with an epic showdown with a necromancer; i died probably 20 times, and ended up coming up with a strategy that involved the use of almost everything in my arsenal, including the greater power that i had never even touched in oblivion!

I will step back for a breif moment and say that there are GOING to be bugs, glitches, problems with the game; something as massive as Skyrim, there are bound to be. But the sign of a true masterpiece is that I dont CARE. At most I might be frusterated for a few moments before i automatically reload at my last save(a nice touch, by the way), and then I'm off to try again, immersed once again into the wonder that is Skyrim.

That is the sign of a masterpiece, and Skyrim very certainly is one. I could not possible recomend a game more. I fully expect Skyrim to be GOTY, and i cannot give it a fair ranking because any number i give would be too low.

Skyrim is amazing. Bank on it.

[Hackattack]

I give more cons than pros because most of the pros are quite obivious and have already been stated on this thread/the interenet numerous times. Please don't take it like im bashing Skyrim, because I am not. Just frustrated over a few things.

Pros:
-I love the new dark art style and how it got away from the renaissance feeling in oblivion. Feels a bit more like morrowind's gritty atmosphere.
-The scope is astonishing, love the big valley's and mountains, feels more like a world than past Tes games to me.
-Loving the new water graphics even if buggy sometimes.
-Combat system is fun.
-Magic is more flashy than Oblivion's. I like how all the spells are individual. Ie in oblivion there was just target/touch, but in Skyrim more types like the "Sith" lightning and flamethrower for short ranged spells.
-SHOUTS are epic.
-Favorites are somewhat nice (miss having 8 hotkey's though).
-All of the new renditions of the classic armor's are fantastic. Best Daedric armor in any Tes game in my opinion.
-Like how when selecting armor/weapons it says + or - #.

Cons:
-Graphics are nice at large scale, but when viewed up closely are almost pathetic at times. Like seriously some textures are less detailed than games from last gen.
-I keep getting a feeling that certain things are cell shaded (I know they aren't actually). Snowy rocks, certain weapons, and some creatures all have a weird black outline (or no outline at all) that make it feel comical at times. Its a very weird transition due to some graphics looking very realistic.
-No kinetic feeling in the combat, especially when fighting dragons. I feel my sword isn't long enough to reach bigger creatures.
-The new map is cool looking, but isn't practical. Its just one giant cloud! I had to go online to find the actual roads from city to city.
-I hate that I can't see my character in my inventory. It worked in fallout 3/NV because there was only 2 pieces of clothing/armor (helms and full body). Frustrating when I am trying to figure out what my imperial is wearing.
-Xbox texture bug. I had no idea and installed the game onto my Xbox not knowing that my graphics were going to downsized. But will be fixed in patch.
-Favorites is okay, but only having two hotkeys (left and right on dpad) is annoying. I wish you could choose between favorites or standard hotkeys.
-Finishers are cool, but I am royally mad that you cant disable the ones that take you out of first person. New Vegas had this option, why not Skyrim?
-Things too generalized for my liking. I don't need the freedom to change my character's play style halfway through the game. I would just make a new character like I have in Tes games for the past 10 years.


It may seem like I am ranting on Skyrim, but don't get me wrong, I love it . I would personally give it a 9.24/10. My biggest gripes might be due to the BIG changes it did to the series. My views in 2014 after 3+ years of playing might differ .

[Cessair]

Ok so I got Skyrim the day it came out, have probably played 8 hours in 1.5 hour bursts. I am running it on my Xbox 360, I fell in love wwith Morrowind as a teeenager, and was playing Oblivion on and off until 2 months ago. My favorite games are Portal 1 & 2, FF Tactics 1 & 2, every zelda after and including a link to the past. Anyway, I hope that helps in understanding where this reviewer is coming from.
So in my strange nature I didn't play Skyrim until hours (in the case of Portal 2 days) after I bought it. So I wasn't rushing to the store at midnight, flying home, omg omg omg load @#%$#$%.
Started it up, choose a breton, was impressed by the tutorial. As is my nature I got disoriented and didn't know where to go after the *blank* attacked. (don't want to spoil). Finished that made my way to Whiterun.
Anyway! I truly am enchanted by this game, it does so much right, just, puts other RPGs to shame. I really don't know how other games are suppose to compete with Skyrim. But that's to say this game is perfect.

Things I felt were derp
-The cursor is hard to see. It's gray and is the same color as 60% of the environment
-Companions are still dumb, they still can't hop down a ledge, they walk 500 feet around to get to you, more often than not
-there are quite a few glitches, the game has frozen twice, I'm sure it will be fixed with a patch
-merchants are cheap *blank*, they buy at like 30%

Things that were over 9000
-The combat is visceral and disorienting, it is very similar to REAL fighting, you get knocked off balance, ambushed, flanked, no warning drums
-spells are very cool and vary well, wards are awesome, haven't tried runes yet
-the slow mo kill shots are awesome, a mage was fleeing once, I caught up to her, lifted her up with a sword through her back, so visceral
-slow mo kills are awesome, kneed a wolf in the head to kill it
-the mages guild OMG it's so immersive, I don't want to ruin anything, but it does everything right, the location itself is beautiful
-that first dungeon in the main quest! up in the mountains, just massive architecture, stunning

I feel sorry for people that don't like this game. You need to learn favorites and over look the bugs almost all new games contain. You're refusal to enjoy this master piece of videogame art is sad. You are robbing yourself of one of the great videogame experiences of your life. I believe after patching this game will be known as a landmark. Just like when we got mario 64 and changed the way we played videogames, just like when we got GTA 3. I think decades from now we will remember Skyrim.

[Hackattack]

I feel sorry for people that don't like this game. You need to learn favorites and over look the bugs almost all new games contain. You're refusal to enjoy this master piece of videogame art is sad. You are robbing yourself of one of the great videogame experiences of your life. I believe after patching this game will be known as a landmark. Just like when we got mario 64 and changed the way we played videogames, just like when we got GTA 3. I think decades from now we will remember Skyrim.

Favorites is daring and only somewhat successful way to streamline hotkeys. Its a tad clunky and doesn't work so well on the PC, along with the whole UI. Its ok at best on the consoles too. If you like having everything highly organized and be able be quickly selected its not the best option. I highly doubt that many, if any, users on this forum hate Skyrim, and at most some may dislike it like some current Morrowind users don't like oblivion. Many people, like me, love it but are frustrated with small nuances or bugs that should have left unchanged.

[everar]

Played for a lot of this weekend on a high-end PC. By now I have a level 22ish "Artificer" class with a bit of all skills, but mostly Smithing/Enchanting/Alchemy.

Skyrim is visually overwhelming, Ridley Scott-esque with particles and lightning surrounding the senses wherever one turns. Even down to the cloud-obscured map, which looks very organic at the cost of being less functional. Consequently it must have been developed this way to create a sense of space and presence rather than empty fields and a feeling that you've "seen it all" from just one mountain vista. The blending of unique and striated architectures upon the crag-marred and roughly-smooth natural surfaces is artful and impressive. When entering the "dungeons", the interiors seem to match the features that the exteriors invited. If you see ritualistic things outside a cave, you'll probably encounter witches or necromancers, etc. The interiors seem to be nicely varied in size, all very unique from eachother and the progression just feels right. I don't recall any dungeons that I felt I had to drag myself through, as I enjoyed them all.

Due to my character specializations in the crafting skills, however, life gets purty challenging after level 20, especially as I'm starting to adventure more northward. The SW corner of the map seems perfect for low-level questing and getting oriented with your character.

Dragons, I have to throw everything I know at them, mostly spells and bow when i'm out of mana, and use/abuse cover, but that may be due to my character choices. I have also not worn armor for the entire game, just a mage robe for mana regen. Haven't touched the guilds yet and might not for some time. Exploring everything to great detail. :]

[dubq]

General comment - I just realized that when you furnish your house, you get a weapon rack, a weapon plaque and a bookcase, all of which can be directly interacted with to place items on. Good stuff!

[Gurney]

As a purely console player who joined the tale of the elder scrolls somewhat lamentably late in its telling, i can mostly sum Skyrim up in one single phrase, "Oblivion, all grown up."

To be specific:

Same deep universe of intriguing lore and history, same vast inspiring landscapes populated with foul beasties and all manner of citizens, but all realised in a more gritty, believable and adult manner. Execution moves and magically detonated environmental hazards "fire spell on oil spills etc" being among the best touches, also being able to snatch insects from the air and dismember them for alchemy ingredients, just awesome lol.

The levelling system is now less restrictive, more fun and freedom, less number crunching. A grateful goodbye to the need for my colour-coded Oblivion levelling spreadsheet lol, no more brain pain.

I had ONE complaint, just one, i was not enjoying the "favourite" menu. I enjoyed switching quickly between ranged and melee weapons on the fly in Oblivion and i didn't think this was as possible in Skyrim. But thanks to a poster above i realised i had overlooked that there were hotkeys on the console version. Just two is all i needed, bow on the left, axe on the right and i'm sorted, all my spells can be chosen from the favourite menu. So now even my one complaint is redundant.

Thank you Bethesda, i always knew you would come through with another great game, good job, looking forward to lots of hours of enjoyment from vanilla, and many patches and DLC to extend and improve the fun for a long time. I bought every DLC for Oblivion, will do the same for this game, you can rely on my custom for as long as i have thumbs to play with as i know you are the one game studio i trust in a market saturated with bad companies. Trying to convert some of my gun-loving FPS friends to come sample the joys of goblin dissemboweling, more revenue for you equals a more excellent game-rich future for me.

O, one thing lol, J/K but where's my multiplayer ? You know you want to make a Battlefield or CoD but with monsters, axes, bows and magic instead of soldiers, guns and grenades lol. Think about it would ya ? Theres a few out there, really bad examples, but with your skills you could create an awesome new RPG/FPS/MMO hybrid genre and author its first true GREAT incarnation.

[chibimyuutsu]

My short list:

First of all, elk (and most other fauna) can swim as fast as they can run.

2. Said fauna seem to float over the ground when they begin running.

3. After leaving an area, bandits' weapons are floating above the ground, and I cannot pick them up.

4. The Blacksmith in Riverwood gets stuck in the side of his house, underground.

5. Weapons picked up and dragged around have no collision with dead bodies. I wanted to honor the Old Orc by putting his axe on his chest.

6. The textures are VERY pixelated. More so than Oblivion's. I'm not sure if this is because I'm playing the 360 version, but still.

7. When I walk in snow, the snow and tree shadows look like Daggerfall graphics. Did I mention they were pixelated?

8. Many people who are doing doily tasks such as drinking or carrying firewood, are holding nothing. Hands are in the position, but nothing is in their hands. Hod tries to drink air, and the wood elf in Riverwood pretends he's working.

9. The doors in game sometimes remain in an open position, and you have to click them twice to enter the area.

10. Argonians gasp for air after being underwater. ???

[Frost Mage]

General comment - I just realized that when you furnish your house, you get a weapon rack, a weapon plaque and a bookcase, all of which can be directly interacted with to place items on. Good stuff!

By Azura, by Azura, by Azura! Bethy listened to us!

[Ryuhza]

I've got too many praises for the game to list here, but a few irks of mine-

1. I have found far too many rabbits scampering around underwater. WHY?

2. When Argonians or Khajiits ragdoll, their tails don't ragdoll properly, and tend to spaz out on occasion. Very bizarre.

3. Magic Regeneration seems to jump around from time to time, and I don't know what's causing it (I'm not changing equipment or drinking potions)

4. People suddenly knowing where to look for you when they step on your runes. Kind of irritating.

5. I don't know if this applies to Khajiit's too, but when Argonians sit in chairs, they tend to plant their tails right through the seat of the chair and into the floor. This is bizarre seeing as they had proper positioning back in Oblivion. Possible PS3 glitch?

6. I wish that sprinting stamina was separate from attack stamina. I find it strange that my legs are tired after swinging my sword with my arms, and vice versa. Perhaps the exhaustion is just that great? And balance... yaddah yaddah.

7. I missed a huge section of the "Night to Remember" Quest after encountering someone I wasn't supposed to know about and demanding something I had no knowledge of at that point.

[Akiraka]

6. I wish that sprinting stamina was separate from attack stamina. I find it strange that my legs are tired after swinging my sword with my arms, and vice versa.

Tell me, what would be easier, wearing upwards of 40 pounds of armor, swinging a six pound sword and killing another human being while you were fresh, or doing it after sprinting about 100 meters? Muscular fatigue is muscular fatigue.

3. Magic Regeneration seems to jump around from time to time, and I don't know what's causing it (I'm not changing equipment or drinking potions)

I was wondering when someone else would mention this. I thought I'd made some sweet Perk/ equip choices with my Altmer, when for almost two straight days I had literally no Magicka drain when dual casting any of the DPS elemental Spells.
Then all of a sudden I'm back to getting drain, and now occasionally I'll experience spells of zero drain. Bethy's definitely got some kinks to work out.

[Ryuhza]

3. Magic Regeneration seems to jump around from time to time, and I don't know what's causing it (I'm not changing equipment or drinking potions)

I was wondering when someone else would mention this. I thought I'd made some sweet Perk/ equip choices with my Altmer, when for almost two straight days I had literally no Magicka drain when dual casting any of the DPS elemental Spells.
Then all of a sudden I'm back to getting drain, and now occasionally I'll experience spells of zero drain. Bethy's definitely got some kinks to work out.

They made me feel like a GOD, and then they took it away...

[MathiasFlynnias]

Is it just me, or do NPC's not interact like Oblivion anymore? It really irritates me how people in an inn will just sit there and never speak like Oblivion unless it is scripted.

This is really the only true problem I have with the game, but honestly, now I have noticed it, it is really depressing me. I would rather hear about mudcrabs all day than nothing at all.

[JVElEven]

.

2. Said fauna seem to float over the ground when they begin running.

3. After leaving an area, bandits' weapons are floating above the ground, and I cannot pick them up.

4. The Blacksmith in Riverwood gets stuck in the side of his house, underground.

6. The textures are VERY pixelated. More so than Oblivion's. I'm not sure if this is because I'm playing the 360 version, but still.

7. When I walk in snow, the snow and tree shadows look like Daggerfall graphics. Did I mention they were pixelated?

8. Many people who are doing doily tasks such as drinking or carrying firewood, are holding nothing. Hands are in the position, but nothing is in their hands. Hod tries to drink air, and the wood elf in Riverwood pretends he's working.

9. The doors in game sometimes remain in an open position, and you have to click them twice to enter the area.

Hmmm...

I think that might be the xbox playing tricks on you with 2 and 6. Can't say bout number 4, it is likely just a strange glitch. I've seen it happen to a reanimated mudcrab on the bridge by that meadery near Whiterun. It's starting issues, for sure.

Number 9 is a bit annoying. Especially when the door is locked with an expert lock . But that's likely just a minor glitch as well.

8: I've only noticed it when I talk to people doing these things, and only with gardening tools, but I'd agree to the notion that it is a bit off-putting in a game that is, apart from that and a few other minor stuff, fantastic.

And finally, 7: I couldn't agree more. Shadows are probably hard to make, and I can't even remember getting shadows and Oblivion, so it's still a step up, and I might get a blurrier picture with only minimum requirements, but they are a bit annoying, yes.

[dubq]

Is it just me, or do NPC's not interact like Oblivion anymore? It really irritates me how people in an inn will just sit there and never speak like Oblivion unless it is scripted.

I haven't checked for that in an Inn yet, but I do notice that the Companions (the guild, not your companion followers) will talk amongst themselves quite a bit.

[Rynkar]

God since friday I played the game a minimum of three hours.
Im blown away every time but im getting overwhelmed by all of the quests.

[Vendetta]

My only complaints are that after the MQ it leaves no traces of it afterwards. Not even like oblivion where jaufrie and bauras whete still there. Every npc related to the main quest flat out dissappears and you can't speak with anyone about it.

Spoiler:

The only guy you see related to the main quest is your red dragon friend that you call by shouting. Did I mention you can't even talk to him again?

Two, marriage is broken, but I should not have expected more from it anyway.

The UI on the pc version is a bit irritating to maneuver especially when you are lagging

And last, it requires steam. The entire point of me gerting the hard copy was to not have it on steam.

[adamflint]

Pros:
+Freedom: The map is very big and it's easy to jump between questlines or simply wander around.
+Sound: The music is absolutely beautiful.
+Story: There are so many storylines that it's a wonder that they don't repeat themselves.
+Graphics: Some textures are rather blurry but the colouring and the contrast of them more than makes up for it.
+Longevity: I've played over sixty hours, I still haven't even started the Civil War questline and I've barely touched the Companions and the Dark Brotherhood.
+Dragons: I love how Bethesda has handled them. They are simply awesome.

Cons:
-Bugs: I haven't encountered anything gamebreaking, but this game is definitely not bug-free.
-UI: It is a rather buggy and takes a lot of getting used to. I seem to have less problems with it than others, though.
-Horses: This is a minor complaint, but there don't seem to be any horse types. I like being able to brag about my super fast black horse!

Overall, this is a great game, possibly the best I've every played. BUY IT NOW.

[EchotheThief]

I have 2 days game time in a week. I think that speaks volumes about this game in itself!!! Its truly amazing!

[Wolfie]

My only complaints are that after the MQ it leaves no traces of it afterwards. Not even like oblivion where jaufrie and bauras whete still there. Every npc related to the main quest flat out dissappears and you can't speak with anyone about it.

Spoiler:

The only guy you see related to the main quest is your red dragon friend that you call by shouting. Did I mention you can't even talk to him again?

.

Spoiler:

The leader of the gray bearts is at the top of throat of the world, the blades are at their temple, who eles is there? they all are there.

[Vendetta]

My only complaints are that after the MQ it leaves no traces of it afterwards. Not even like oblivion where jaufrie and bauras whete still there. Every npc related to the main quest flat out dissappears and you can't speak with anyone about it.

Spoiler:

The only guy you see related to the main quest is your red dragon friend that you call by shouting. Did I mention you can't even talk to him again?

.

Spoiler:

The leader of the gray bearts is at the top of throat of the world, the blades are at their temple, who eles is there? they all are there.

Spoiler:

The leader of the grey beards and the blades disappeared for me.

[Wolfie]

Spoiler:

They shouldint, look around, I've seen the blades move but they always come back, the lead of the gray beards was gone for me to for a bit then he was back, maybe he flys around idk

[Black Thunder]

The game is awesome. There are some things I miss from Oblivion, however...

1. The hot-keys. It sometimes takes a while to switch from magic to weapon and sheild.
2. The faction ranks
3. Some quests sometimes get less attractive.
4. The map is great in quality. But mostly over-sized. I never knew 2 cities even existed before I looked up here.

I love the combat improvement, the L/R hand dual-wielding, the skill perks and everything else.

Overall - 9.4/10!

[born2beagator]

I've got too many praises for the game to list here, but a few irks of mine-

1. I have found far too many rabbits scampering around underwater. WHY?

2. When Argonians or Khajiits ragdoll, their tails don't ragdoll properly, and tend to spaz out on occasion. Very bizarre.

3. Magic Regeneration seems to jump around from time to time, and I don't know what's causing it (I'm not changing equipment or drinking potions)

4. People suddenly knowing where to look for you when they step on your runes. Kind of irritating.

5. I don't know if this applies to Khajiit's too, but when Argonians sit in chairs, they tend to plant their tails right through the seat of the chair and into the floor. This is bizarre seeing as they had proper positioning back in Oblivion. Possible PS3 glitch?

6. I wish that sprinting stamina was separate from attack stamina. I find it strange that my legs are tired after swinging my sword with my arms, and vice versa. Perhaps the exhaustion is just that great? And balance... yaddah yaddah.

7. I missed a huge section of the "Night to Remember" Quest after encountering someone I wasn't supposed to know about and demanding something I had no knowledge of at that point.

I got that in 360 too.